October 18, 2017
White Sands National Monument
NM Museum of Space History
White Sands Missile Range Museum
Alamogordo, NM

Today was sightseeing day. We wanted to hit these 3 sights and lucky for us they were all in the same direction. We left the park at 9am and headed northeast out US Hwy 70. We stopped first at White Sands Missile Range which was 33 miles away, but unfortunately when we got there the Base was in a lock down condition and nobody was going to get in, or out. So we kept going another 30 miles out US 70 to White Sands National Monument.

Visitors Center....

The sand is created from gypsum which makes it very white....

the white sand gives you a feeling of being in snow...

After the White Sands National Monument we drove another 20 miles to the New Mexico Space History Museum. This museum is located in the town of Alamogordo.

The museum sits up on the side of the mountains to the east and looks out towards White Sands Monument. This picture shows the white sand dunes in the distance.

The museum is inside a beautiful building....

There are lots of exhibits and hands on displays. Here is Marilyn flying (crashing) the Shuttle while making a landing...

Beam me up Scotty.....

We had a lot of fun but when you've seen Cape Canaveral and Johnson Space Center, we're spoiled. However, if you're in the area it's a nice place to visit.

After the Space Museum we headed back to White Sands Missile Range to see if the lock down was over. Lucky for us it was. We gave our IDs to the guard and he did a quick background check before letting us walk in to the missile museum.

White Sands is an active Army Base so security is tight.

There are two buildings with exhibits and an outdoor area with all the missile displays.

The main museum building...

This display seemed a little out of place. I believe it shows the local animals and predators...

The V-2 Rocket...

Many of the outdoor pictures did not turn out well because I had to take them into the sunlight. For security purposes I was only allowed to take pictures towards the mountains and away from the base.

This was a really cool museum, especially if your into rockets and of course all the history of this area and coming on to an active base made it a special experience for us.

October 15, 2017
Hacienda RV Resort
Las Cruces, NM

Well this morning we made a last second decision to see if we could skip the next overnight RV park and go straight on to Las Cruces. We were facing two short trips, 100 miles and 80 miles or one longer trip (for us) of 180 miles. I called Hacienda in Las Cruces to see if we could come in a day early and they told us we could. So after a 3 hour trip running south on I-25 through barren country we came into Las Cruces.

Hacienda RV Resort is a very nice park with paved roads and meticulously manicured gravel sites, a club house, laundry, exercise facilities, meeting rooms, business center, and concierge service.

Nice large site with privacy border...

Easy in and out...

Just up the street is a Rally Hall which is a large meeting facility for RV Rallys.

Las Cruces is bordered on all sides by beautiful mountains....

Check out the finely raked gravel ;>)

Believe it or not there is a lot to do here in Las Cruces. We will be here for 6 days and there are 3 places I want to visit.

White Sands National Monument

National Space Hall of Fame

White Sands Missile Range Museum

We are 44 miles north of El Paso, TX and the Mexico border. This is as far south as we will go. When we leave here we will be heading west on I-10 heading towards Tucson and ultimately Southern California.

October 14, 2017
Kiva RV Park
Bosque, NM

Today we left Santa Fe and headed 112 miles south on I-25 passing through Albuquerque to the small rural town of Bosque. There is not much here except for Kiva RV Park.... and Horse Motel.

narrow gravel pull through site...

Up the street....

Down the parking lot.... I mean street

Long enough to stay hooked up...

And even a little shade from a tree....without blocking the Sat dish.

This is just the first of two overnight stays as we work our way south to Las Cruces.

Today also just happens to be our 45th wedding anniversary, wahoo.... Marilyn and I don't mind celebrating in remote spots like this one because we are living the dream of a lifetime traveling this country. We are so thankful and appreciative of this opportunity, and I for one am the luckiest man in the world to be sharing my life with this wonderful, beautiful, and intelligent woman.

October 8, 2017
Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta

One of the reasons we left Colorado so late in the fall is so we could be in the Albuquerque area during the Balloon Fiesta (10/7 - 10/15). This was a bucket list item for us and today was the day. Yesterday we researched the event and purchased tickets online for today. We learned that it was recommended to not park at the Fiesta grounds but rather go to a park-n-ride location and take the bus in (great advice). The Fiesta is broken up into sessions (morning and evening) and you have to purchase tickets for each session (our total cost for the bus and morning session was $26.... can't beat that). The morning session starts around 5-5:30am and the evening session starts around 5 pm. There are a few different events at each session but all have the basic Balloon Glow and Mass Ascension. The Glow is where they fire the propane burners and make the balloons glow (obviously this happens in the dark or dusk). The Mass Ascension is where all the balloons launch. Food booths, gifts, arts, and souvenirs are numerous much like you find at a State Fair.

I can't tell you how difficult it was to pick just a few pictures out of the many we took. This was an amazing event that exceeded our expectations. If you have the opportunity to attend this event you will not be disappointed (tired because you had to get up at 3am, but not disappointed).